March HPAC Agenda

This month’s agenda includes: 
 
Homestead Community Land Trust: We’ve been getting inquiries about properties for sale around the neighborhood with “Homestead” signs, so we’ve invited a guest speaker from Homestead Community Land Trust to come tell us what they do.
 
Neighborhood Park and Street Fund: overview the projects submitted for grants in our district
 
Highland Park Playground: A  Seattle Parks representative will be present to update us on the schedule for the Opportunity Fund Grant awarded to the park to create better access from 10th Ave and Thistle Street.
 
HPIC Courtyard: come hear and  see what’s going on…. and help us name the new space!
 
We’ll also have some folks speaking about the Tree ambassador program, and the Green Home Tour coming up in April.

DEPAVE Highland Park Improvement Club!

Mark your calendars now for March 22 so you don’t miss out on this really fun event kicking off the beginning of the dramatic change to the HPIC parking lot into a courtyard! You thought the raingardens and cisterns were changing things, wait until you see what’s coming. Depave Day (more info on their website)  will be an event we will be talking about for years- let’s kick that parking lot’s asphalt! (oh no, I did say that.) Come learn how to remove asphalt- more details to come, pretty sure beer will be involved, but get it on your calendar. An all ages, family fun HPIC event sponsored by Sustainable Seattle and Stewardship Partners.

Mayor’s Neighborhood Summit

As discussed at our January HPAC meeting, Mayor Ed Murray plans to hold a Seattle Neighborhood Summit to improve how the city works with neighborhoods and community leaders. Some of the themes that will be used to drive the summit’s discussions include calls for commitment, action and ongoing conversation

Summit planners say this is the first step in what they hope to be an ongoing relationship aimed at rebuilding the trust between the City and neighborhoods. In addition to holding this traditional forum, they plan to use social media and technology so more can participate whether or not they are able to attend.

 The Seattle Neighborhood Summit will be held on Saturday, April 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Seattle Center’s Pavilion Room. The Mayor’s Office has also launched a website to collect public input between now and the Summit, which can be found here.

Roxbury Street Safety Input Opportunity

HPAC has been involved in this project, and unfortunately this opportunity falls on the same night as our regular monthly meeting, but need to put it out there for those of you that can make it there to give input on the very important SW Roxbury Street Road Safety Corridor Project. You could even make it to both meetings! Please join the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) next Wednesday, February 26th from 6 to 7:30 PM at Roxhill Elementary School (9430 30th Ave SW) to review data and share your thoughts on how they can improve safety on SW Roxbury Street.

 If you can’t make it on the 26th, they’ll also be at the White Center Summit on March 1st to talk Roxbury and the White Center Chamber of Commerce meeting on March 11th. Comments are also welcome via email.

February HPAC Meeting Agenda

HPAC meeting next Wednesday Night, 2/26: HPIC’s Greening Committee will meet at 6:00, potluck starts at 6:30, and HPAC meeting will start at 7:00 at HPIC on 12th and Holden.

So far, the agenda includes:
  • an official announcement of the formation of HPAC’s very own Greening Committee: HPAC member Craig Rankin has taken the lead on this and already has a very cool kick off event in the works. Come learn about what’s going on and how to get involved in making our neighborhood more beautiful.
  • Aly Pennucci from DPD is joining us to discuss a Pedestrian Zone Mapping Project.
  • We have some updates on the Seattle City Light Surplus Properties, several park projects going on in the neighborhood, and all kinds of announcements of cool stuff happening.
  • We will be presenting HPIC’s landscape plan for community input and review- come check it out and see how you can help transform part of HPIC’s parking lot into a beautiful courtyard for the community- it’s happening fast! A little sneak peak here:

Illustrative Plan for Community Pres

Volunteer Opportunity at Kenyon trail between 14th and 15th

On Feb. 23 and March 2 from 1 to 4 pm, some Highland Park Neighbors are having their final two work parties associated with a Small Sparks grant on Feb 23rd and March 2nd  if anyone wants to join the fun at 14th and Kenyon. The “Kenyon Street Right-Of-Way Beautification Project” received a $1000 grant from the City of Seattle/Department of Neighborhoods, which will be used to purchase plants for the space which has been an on-going restoration project for just under two years.  The sloped area which is used locally by students and bus riders willing to climb/descend the steep “social trail” is partially planted and mostly mulched. Come help finish up the project- it’s looking awesome.

West Seattle Transportation Coalition

The West Seattle Transportation Coalition is a Peninsula-wide organization working to address transportation and mobility issues for Seattle’s largest constituency. Representing more than 100,000 people living and working in the 10 square mile area between the Duwamish River and Puget Sound, these community leaders, advocates, business owners, and residents are working to address transportation and commuting challenges caused by:

  • The reduction of mass transit services: The current insufficient level of service will be compounded by the proposed cuts in our already under served area.
  • Loss of infrastructure: The scheduled removal of the SR-99 Viaduct without sufficient replacement capacity on other routes to and from our Peninsula.
  • Density without transportation capacity: The region’s commitment to increased density is not matched with equivalent increases in transportation capacity to serve the Peninsula’s steadily growing population.
  • Natural barriers: West Seattle has only limited routes connecting it to downtown and beyond for the vast majority of its commuters. Mass transit is the only option that can move us across these choke points to keep our transportation systems functioning.

HPAC would like our members’ support so we can formally endorse this as a community group, adding to the strong voice they are working hard to create. We’ll be discussing this endorsement at our next HPAC meeting on October 23rd, but here’s how you can help in the meantime:

Join the Coalition 

Speak Up so they know what matters to those of us living in Highland Park and Riverview.  You can also bring your concerns to HPAC and we can communicate them for you if that’s easier or more comfortable.

Stay Informed

Utility Discount Program and Project Share

As winter approaches, the heat’s kicking on, and the utility bills start to creep up- ahhh! The Utility Discount Program is an income-qualified program that can help you reduce your electric bill, and also save on other utilities like water, sewer, and garbage. You may be eligible, check it out here. The Utility Discount Program also offers free home energy visits that could help you realize even greater savings.

You can also help those in need with electricity bills through Project Share,  which helps thousands of friends and neighbors, children and seniors who would have been left in the dark if it wasn’t for Project Share and donations. Check it out here. 

HPAC’s Official Comment for City Light’s Public Hearing on Surplus Properties

We submitted an official comment on the Surplus Properties that we felt reflected the sentiment felt at our September meeting:

We would like to request a re-zone of the Dumar site (16th and Holden) from residential to NC1-30 to match the other corner properties’ zoning before it is sold. This would not only help City Light earn more money for the sale, but also make sense for this corner property on an arterial. The entire neighborhood would benefit from a re-zone as it would encourage a more walkable community. We would like to see the whole neighborhood benefit from this sale rather than the sale benefiting just a single developer.

We would also like to encourage the sale of the White Center site (9th and Henderson) to King County Wastewater Division as a site for Green Stormwater Infrastructure. There is great need for space in our neighborhood for stormwater infiltration and we feel that this site would lend itself well to that sustainable endeavor. We also feel that this would be in the best interest of the entire community, who would be involved in the design process if it were to go forward with King County, rather than selling the benefit to a single developer. This site has a rich history and was donated to the city by a community member- we would like to make sure the neighborhood is returned some benefit in its sale. 

We encourage City Light to consider these requests from Highland Park and Riverview as they have the power to positively contribute to the sustainability of our neighborhood, and to provide benefit to the most number of people. 

If you are interested in submitting an official comment, please go to this website to submit your comments, you’ll see a link on the right side of the page that says “submit comments here.” It is also helpful to send your comments to City Council. Thank you!

Surplus City Light Properties Discussion at HPAC

Seattle City Light has some surplus properties in our neighborhood that they are considering selling and are seeking public comment on the idea. More information can be found on Seattle City Light’s surplus properties website.  We asked them to come discuss these properties with us at last night’s HPAC meeting. We also asked Seattle Parks to comment on them: they are not interested in these properties as they are not located in any gaps in park locations according to their gap analysis studies.
One site is the old Trolley property at 8820 9th ave SW- near 9th and Henderson:
This is the site of the old Highland Park Lake Burien Trolley Barn and was the Sub station that provided power to the Trolley. A bit of history about this property sent to me by a Highland Park resident: This land was originally donated to the community of Highland Park by Clyde and Grace Sherman to build the car barn and substation so the community could have transportation and power.  The Sherman’s lived next door to the south in the tall house that still exists.  The Trolley line was independently owned by local community shareholders but when there was a land slide near the Abrahamson brick yard on West Marginal Way the local shareholders could not finance the replacement of the tracks and the land became the property of the City after a deal was made to repair the tracks and and run the line for a certain  number of years.  This became the first City owned street car line.
King County may be interested in this property near 9th and Henderson for Green Stormwater Infrastructure / Roadside Raingardens. If this were to happen, there would be community input and involvement through design. We heard support from community members that this would be a good use of the property- it is a very preliminary idea and no studies or decisions have been made. We also heard support of an idea to install a solar powered phone charging station available to the community in case of emergencies at this site.
The point was also made that this  property was donated to the city by a member of the community, and proceeds from the sale of the property should come back to the community in the form of funds for our underfunded parks projects. City Light, however, has some very strict orders/laws that dictate where the proceeds from the sale go.
The other property is located  across from the Seven Eleven at 1605 SW Holden:
We heard from the majority of the community members present that they do not want this property to become a park.
There was a lot of discussion about this property on 16th and Holden. Most of those present at the meeting would like to see this property’s zoning change from residential to commercial in an effort to create more of a walkable community for our neighborhood. The opinion is that maintaining residential zoning on one corner of a busy arterial intersection does not make sense and would not be the best use of the space for the community. The point was made that City Light could get more money for their property if they rezoned it prior to selling it, and the neighborhood would be happy to see that change happen prior to the property changing hands.
There was also a request for the City to re-look at zoning along the entire stretch of Holden from 16th to 9th, as it seems haphazard in its delineation.
If you are interested in commenting on these properties, there is a public hearing coming up on October 2nd from 7pm to 9pm at High Point Community Center. I know it’s so hard to attend all these meetings- so you can make an official public comment online too. Please note that last night’s meeting was just a discussion and not considered a public hearing, so our comments need to be submitted formally. Please go to this website to submit your comments, you’ll see a link on the right side of the page that says “submit comments here.” You can also write to Sally Clark, our City Council president, while you’re at it!  They are the ones that will ultimately be signing off on this, so it is imperative that they know we have an opinion on the properties.
West Seattle has 6 properties total, and a coalition has formed peninsula wide that is trying to slow down these sales until it is known what is the best use of each property for the community. The “West Seattle Green Space Coalition” was present at our meeting asking for signatures on their petition to slow the process down.  While it doesn’t seem like “green space” is what is best for our community in regard to the 16th and Holden site especially, HPAC is supportive of the idea of slowing the process down to determine the best use of these properties for each community in question.